I'm finding that as a mama, a chef, a teacher, I'm always looking for ease....and for many of us that literally means "open can, pour in pot, heat, eat". What we forget is that it takes time to drive out to the store, get the can, bring it home...and many times it's actually just easier to make a huge pot of something, freeze leftovers, and have your "higher self" remember to defrost it in the morning to eat for supper. That saves you a trip to the store and only takes the 15 seconds it takes for you to get said frozen item out on the counter before you leave for work.

So, enter hummus. For many years, I used to buy it. And then I'd get frustrated when we ran out since we had to do without, and then again, drive to the store on the prescribed shopping day, buy the hummus, bring it home, and sometimes, (ugh) sometimes it wasn't even GOOD...it had foreign ingredients and an air pocket which would lead to spoiling of the entire batch. Then, you'd have to drive BACK to the store, give them the container, get your refund, and then drive back. What a waste of time, and moreover, what a lack of inspiration and trust in your own abilities to make the best lip-smaking humus you've ever had! That's right, I said it - you're a hummus goddess in the making, and you didn't even know it.

But hold your horses - before we even go there, you must understand batch cooking since it will save your life.

Batch cooking....Here goes:

1. Make something

2. Divide it in two

3. Make two recipes

4. Freeze leftovers

5. Hug yourself since you just saved some serious $$$

6. And have your family hug you for the culinary goddess you are.

So for this particular case, we batch cooked chickpeas (or garbanzos) and the steps are as follows:

3. Place in pressure cooker, cover with fresh water 2 inches above beans and add in 3 inch piece of kombu seaweed

4. Place cover on top, secure in place, and raise pressure until the knob lifts (although this depends on your machine).

5. Lower flame to medium-low and cook for 29 minutes.

6. Turn off the stove and walk away, letting the pressure lower naturally.

Enter in two amazing recipes with the batch you just made. Make sure once the chickpeas cool, you drain them but retain the cooking water for later. You can discard the Kombu.

Chipotle Pumpkin Hummus:

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1 inch cubed jalapeño pepper

1 lemon, juiced

1/3 cup tahini

1 tsp cumin

3 shakes chipotle pepper powder

1 heaping tsp sea salt

3 cloves crushed and chopped garlic

Combine all ingredients together in a food processor and process well, adding just a little bit of chickpea water to smooth out into your desired consistency. Taste for seasonings and texture, and then pour into an airtight container and refrigerate. Serve with pumpkin seed oil (optional), pumpkin seeds and crudités.